Griffith film grad wins top honours at Cannes

Qiu Yang, 28, took out the top award at Cannes for his film, A Gentle Night, which follows a mother searching for her missing daughter in a small Chinese town on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

Just nine films were selected from almost 5,000 submissions to compete for the Short Film Palme d’Or. A jury presided over by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu and actress Uma Thurman awarded the festivals’ top honour to A Gentle Night – the first time the Palme D’Or has gone to a Chinese filmmaker.

“We are very proud to have one of our graduates win top honours at Cannes,” she said.

“It shows the strength of screen education at Griffith Film School, where we are turning out graduates who are achieving recognition at the very top of their field – from Emmy awards to Oscar nominations and now a Palme D’Or.

“Griffith filmmakers are making their mark in the film industry, on the national and international stage.”